10,000 Flee Toxic Fire In Iowa

July 17, 1985|By United Press International.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA. — Firefighters contained a fire at an abandoned sewage plant Tuesday that spewed out toxic smoke, chasing more than 10,000 people from their homes and prompting police to close the city to outsiders.

City Fire Marshal Phil Saunders said 11 firefighting units had broken through a concrete dome at the plant allowing bulldozers to pile dirt on the fire. The action reduced the thick, billowing smoke to steam.

``It looks like we`re on top of it and we`re thankful for that,``

Saunders said. ``We`re breathing a little easier now.``

Earlier, Gov. Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency in Linn County after observing efforts to battle the fire and meeting with displaced residents at a temporary shelter. Some residents were permitted to return home.

Jack Crandall, director of Iowa Disaster Services, said at the time the fire was contained that it still would take three to four hours to ``close up and clean up at the fire site itself.``

``They (are) going to keep the downtown area closed up until they were convinced everything was secure at the fire,`` he said.

Residents in Cedar Rapids and rural areas to the south and southeast were advised to stay indoors with their windows closed and air conditioners operating until the smoke dissipated.

No serious injuries were reported, but about a dozen people were treated at a hospital and released.

The blaze, which was sparked possibly by a worker`s torch Monday afternoon, was confined to the plant, but caused the Styrofoam-filled roof to collapse. The fire released hydrogen chloride--a toxic chemical that causes nausea and headaches and irritates the eyes and throat, officials said.

``People in the area were asked to leave,`` police Capt. Howard Gardner said.

Barricades were set up at Int. Hwy. 380 exit ramps and main traffic arteries into the city to ``keep out people who don`t have to be here,`` Capt. Paul Dickerson said. Gardner said most businesses and factories agreed to close.

Crews used a wrecking ball to demolish the plant`s walls. Bulldozers pushed dirt from a nearby landfill on top of the wreckage to choke the smoldering fire.

Officials first tried to put out the fire by flooding the saucepan-shaped structure, but the plan failed because water flowed from the plant`s drains.

Vern Bagley, district commander of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, said the cause of the fire had not been officially determined. But both he and police said workmen who had been demolishing the plant Monday said the blaze had been started accidently by a cutting torch.

Capt. Ron Hansen said there had been no reports of looting in areas evacuated. He said the plant has been abandoned for about five years.

Among the other areas evacuated was northern Johnson County, south of Cedar Rapids. Some of the evacuated residents, mostly from rural areas, were taken to the University of Iowa Field House in Iowa City.

Police said residents evacuated were housed in four schools in Cedar Rapids and nearby Marion. Most others stayed with relatives or friends, they said.

Gerald Clanton, executive director of the Red Cross in Cedar Rapids, said more than 200 people were housed overnight in a junior high school.

``The only injuries we have are the irritation to the eyes and headaches,`` he said.